If the name “The Format” was intended to imply a band that makes music that follows a format for commercial success, something went terribly wrong.

The Arizona-based songwriting duo of Sam Means and Nate Ruess formed The Format a year-and-a-half ago so they could write the kind of music they wanted to write.

“We were getting fed up with other bands, we didn’t want to feel restricted to any genre,” Ruess says.

“The music we were listening to was all over the board.”

The duo will open for co-headliners Straylight Run and The New Amsterdams Sunday at the Maintenance Shop.

The Format blends strong singer/songwriter and pop influences to create a sound that stands out among other pop acts who seem to be recreating each other.

“It’s pop, but I guess a little more power pop,” Ruess says. “We listen to a lot of different music and there’s more songwriter oriented stuff.”

The band’s original sounds set them apart from the rest of the pop crowd, making them a candidate for mainstream radio. When their song, “The First Single,” became an unexpected hit on a local Arizona radio station, record labels began to show interest in the young band.

Elektra Records soon inked a deal with the band and sent them to the studio to record its current album, “Interventions and Lullabies.”

With a major label behind them, The Format has been able to write songs in the comfort of a good studio, allowing the duo to experiment with songs as they pleased.

“After we put it together, we pull it apart and see what we can do with it,” Ruess says.

“There’s so much stuff you can do to mold it the way you want it to be — you can add an instrument, take away an instrument, put something at the beginning or add it at the end.”

For the album, the pair sat down and wrote songs together. Ruess is responsible for most of the lyrics while Means supplies the music. Most of their songwriting is done with a voice and an acoustic guitar.

“We don’t really split it up as much as write it together,” Ruess says.

“Sam will just start playing something and I will start singing.”

For the album, Ruess tackled a wide variety of topics in his lyrics, some relating to him personally and other covering universal ideas.

“I think this record was a lot about being caught in a relationship that you don’t want to be in. It’s fairly apathetic, and convincing yourself its OK. Confronting and dealing with friends and your past,” Ruess says.

“Also, a lot of it was about being in situations we are in, being songwriters on a major label.”

While The Format only consists of two members in the studio, they enlisted a live band to tour with.

Since they are on their first major U.S. tour, the duo has been able to have the fun experiences only touring could give them.

“My hotel room in Milwaukee was haunted. I guess Jeffrey Dahmer had killed someone there,” Ruess says. “I was sleeping and I woke up to chainsaw sounds and screaming. I asked people the next morning and they heard them too.”

The band also went through some hazing recently, when on tour with Something Corporate.

“On the last day of the tour, they came out and decided to take all the drum sets during our last song,” Ruess says. “But somehow we managed to play the song perfectly.”

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Who: Straylight Run, The New Amsterdams, The Format

Where: M-ShopWhen: 7:30 p.m., Sunday

Cost: $10 students, $11 public